Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-12-17
OUT OF THE DEEP.

10y nOOu. Ntu WAS NluitS uuN6I lTOUl
overwork and the doctors prescribed COM
plete rest, sea voyage and plenty of exer
else, advising him to go to a warmer climate
Ned didn't like the idea of leaving his
studies, but was finally talked around to it.
His father placed his pretty little yacht, the
Swift, at our disposal, insisting upon my
accompanying his son upon the forthcoming
vacation. | accepted the invitation, and we
spent very busy week in getting ready,
after which we cruised along the coast of
France and Portugal for while, until Ned
declared himself tired of amateur yachting,
and expressed a desire to get out of sight of
land again He named the Azores as our
destination, and accordingly the bow of our
boat waS pointed westward one fine morning
in February.
We sailed along before spanking breeze
for some leagues, enjoying the bracing sea
air, until the sky gradually became overcast,
a haze shutting out the sun, and, at last, be
coming impenetrably black and thick, MAX
ing everything dark about us, while the
wind died out, leaving our vessel motionless
Capt. Jack said it looked "nasty," and
ordered his men to take in sail. While they
were at work the lightning began to flash
with great vividness and rapidity, accom-
panied by thunder of most terrific descrip-
lion, so deafening and long drawn that the
peals seemed never ending. The sea about us
was as smooth as glass-hardly ripple dis
turbed its surface while the air seemed heavy
and close, as If with an ominous foreboding
when she comes,n said Capt Jack, she'll
De a ripper, an no mistake. | never seen it
ike this unless it blew great guns after" and
he leaned forward ''to listen to the wind, - he
said, but no wind came. The deadly, unnatural
calm upon the water was undisturbed by the
slightest brerth of air, while the flash and
BOOM of heav ms heaviest artillery reflected
Upon and reverberated over its surface
Suddenly, without the slightest warning,
either by sound of wind or splash of water, q
gigantic wave, as high, verify believe, as
Mount Blanc, emerged from the gloom before
US, rushing onward with incredible rapidity
and force.
For the moment, thought we were lost.
1t seemed as if the mighty mass of water
must inevitably swamp us, but in the excite
ment of the moment we failed to notice what
we afterward clearly saw was our salvation.
The wave was not one of those foam capped
monsters formed by the shrieking winds as
they disport themselves upon the angry
waters; on the contrary, it was perfectly
smooth; no white froth formed crown upon
its crest, but in its stead was a film of mud
and debris.
1t rolled along smoothly, as if some giant
had formed it by casting huge rock into
the ocean, We were lifted bodily upon it's
broad shoulders, rising up, up, up, until it
seemed as if we had but to reach out over our
beads to touch the sullen clouds that lowered
above us, darting flashes of lightning at each
other.
Then it passed along beneath us, and we
went down. 1t is impossible to describe that
into what seemed a bottomless pit of black
water unable to see dozen yards before us
save when lightning fash gave us a mo
mentary glimpse of our surroundings.
After what appeared to us an endless time,
We once more reached the sea level, which
| was almost as smooth as before the great
| wave had passed, but we were no longer mo
| tionless, the impetus of the wave had boon
communicated to the whole sea, and we
found ourselves rushing eastward with it,
stern foremost.
We could do nothing but cling to the bull
warks and gaze helplessly into each Others
blanched faces. In a few moments we We're
overtaken by a second wave, not so large a.
| the first, perhaps but causing us to go
through the same sensations.
third and still smaller one followed buo
while we were dancing upon its crest, ready
| 10 take LDdJ awful downward plunge uSulU,
another and larger wave from the opposite di
rection met and combined with it, The
swirl of waters caused by their meeting
turned and twisted our little boat about like
q straw.
Sometimes we were spun rapidly around
like teetotum, then we were carried about
in a spiral until / thought we were to go down
in q vortex at the center, but after these
antics had thoroughly frightened us, to say
nothing of making every one miserably sea
sick, the westward wave conquered, and we
found ourselves headed once more in that
direction, and moving along at the rate of
about mile minute, as nearly as l was able
to judge.
On. on we went with the giant wave over
miles of monotonous and CHASTITY sea, upon
the surface of which we could see innumer-
able fish floating, dead.
Dimly the idea dawned upon our minds,
benumbed as they were by terror and giddi-
ness, that some terrible convulsion of nature
was taking place, but we had not energy
enough remaining to speculate upon it, We
merely held ON to our posts and waited, while
we were whirled along over the deathly quiet
of the sea.
heard Capt. Jack mutter, 'Not a capful
O. wind" and listlessly observed that the at
mosphere was perfectly still and intensely
oppressive. After we had been hurried along
for-I cannot say how many minutes or
hours, it seemed century-we felt the wave
beneath us rising to still higher altitude,
until suddenly we were shot downward into
the darkness Then we could hear the roar
and splash of water before us; the first sound
that fell upon our ears during that awful
calm, except the thunder and the tapping Of
the water under our bow.
"Breakersl" roared Capt. Jack, and we
j. waited, breathless, for our doom.
But we did not reach the breakers. Our
So little craft gradually and gently slowed up
and finally stood still, anchored fast in mass
of tangled sea weed.
After examining our position we decided